This presentation discusses the current literature on the prognosis of teeth under periodontal therapy. This has led to conclusions for everyday practice/clinical routines and demonstrates how to establish a reliable prognosis for teeth of patients suffering from periodontitis from a clinical point of view.

To assess the prognosis of teeth it is necessary to take the causative factors for tooth loss into account. Among others, these include poor oral hygiene, a lack of willingness to attend regular follow-ups as well as the age of the patient, but also tooth-related factors such as initial attachment loss, furcation involvement or the inclusion of teeth in prosthetic designs. When considering the prognosis of teeth one must strictly distinguish between closed tooth rows or edentulous arches which require prosthetic restoration. In case of closed tooth rows one should attempt to save these and only perform extractions in emergencies. So as not to worsen the prognosis of teeth in edentulous arches, these should not be used as abutments for fixed or removable prostheses. Here the therapeutic concept of replacing missing teeth with implant-supported prostheses is discussed.